When the semifinal round of the organization’s middleweight tournament kicks off tomorrow at Cage Warriors Fight Night 5, participant Victor Cheng isn’t about to make any bold predictions.

In an eight-man field that’s featured some of Europe’s top prospects, he knows any of his fellow tourney semifinalists could win it.

“I feel [of] all the guys that are left, all the guys could win the tournament,” he today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “The competition is very high.”

Cheng (8-2) meets Faycal Hucin (7-2), who scored a crushing TKO of Gareth Joseph in the tournament’s opening round, while Pavel Kusch (12-2) meets John Phillips (14-4) in the other semifinal at Cage Warriors Fight Night 5. Both bouts are part of a main card that streams live on MMAjunkie.com at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT). The event takes place at New Boxing Arena in Amman, Jordan.

The tourney finale, which takes place this summer, ultimately will determine a new Cage Warriors middleweight champion. And the organization, which prides itself on grooming and sending talent to major organizations such as the UFC and Bellator, knows the winner could be headed to greener pastures thanks to the publicity of the tourney.

Cheng, a Swedish fighter, stamped his ticket to the semifinals with a second-round submission victory over Matt Gabel in the tourney’s opening round. It marked his eighth stoppage win in eight fights – and his sixth via submission.

However, Cheng, who fought just two months ago, plans to show Hucin something he hasn’t seen before.

“I think it’s most important that you bring something new to the table,” he said. “In this sport, it really forces you to progress and get better the next time around. The next time I fight, I’ll be a different fighter again.”

Before Cage Warriors, Cheng launched his career and gained some regional notoriety with The Zone FC, a Swedish promotion. As Cheng prepares for his Cage Warriors bout, another Swedish fighter and Zone FC vet will headline Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 2 event – the first UFC event in Sweden.

That fighter, Alexander Gustafsson, is within reach of a UFC title shot and now a top-10 light heavyweight with global recognition.

Sure, Cheng would like to follow in Gustafsson’s footsteps, but at this point in the tournament, it’s hard to look too far ahead.

“I’m not even in the finals yet,” he said. “It’s an honor to be part of this tournament. Cage Warriors is a great promotion. But Faycal Hucin will be a very tough test for me. This is a really big deal for me.

“To be honest with you, I really think that if I win this fight, winning the finals will be my biggest goal yet. We’ll see after that. I really can’t even focus on one year from now. Everything can happen in these things. If I mess up, I’ll be in a different point in my career. But hopefully I’ll be the champion at the end of it.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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